


The Truth

by SpyroForLife



Series: The Truth continuity [1]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Acceptance, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Post-Enter the Florpus, Protective Membrane, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 08:37:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20288581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpyroForLife/pseuds/SpyroForLife
Summary: After helping Zim come to terms with the truth of his mission, Dib asks Zim to help him finally convince Professor Membrane that he's an alien. With nothing really to lose, Zim agrees.





	The Truth

**Author's Note:**

> This is post-Enter the Florpus, the Invader Zim movie that released on Netflix the other day! So spoilers ahead! I just had a lot of feelings about the way the movie went and I wanted to "fix" things so to speak. This is probably too emotionally honest for these characters but it's still something I wanted to write. Hope you enjoy!

Dib really wasn't expecting anything beneficial to come of this. But he was going to at least try. Ever since the whole florpus situation had resolved, Zim has done nothing to actually continue conquering Earth. Last Dib asked, Zim said he was just waiting on his Tallest to finish navigating their way out of the florpus. They'll be fine, Zim had insisted with a dismissive wave, but Dib hadn't missed the sort of manic glee to his eyes.

Now he was going to talk to him again. The base was already back in pristine condition, though the surrounding neighborhood still had its fair share of destruction. Zim didn't care to help with the cleanup efforts. Dib wasn't surprised. He walked up the sidewalk, keeping an eye on the gnome guards, but though they turned to watch him, none of them fired. Dib stopped at the door, took a breath, and gave a few knocks.

He heard the volume on the TV lower and then squeaks, before GIR opened the door clad in his dog suit. GIR beamed at the sight of him and pulled his hood down, giving a wave. “Hi!”

“Hey, GIR. Is Zim here?” Dib asked, looking around him. The living room was spotless, which was a welcome change from the absolute dump it was when he visited during Zim's depression.

“Yeah! Lemme go get him!” GIR tossed off the rest of his suit and ran for an elevator, his feet making metallic clacking sounds the whole way. Dib walked in and closed the door, going to sit on the couch. He glanced at the TV, which was playing a cartoon he hasn't seen since he was a toddler. He looked at the kitchen, making sure no one was coming back up the elevator, then back at the TV, humming along to the music.

It was a few minutes before GIR returned, by which point the characters on the show were singing and Dib was singing along, eyes closed and completely shut off to the rest of the world.

“Nice singing, Dib-stink.”

Dib jerked and opened his eyes, seeing Zim standing near the couch with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

“Zim! Uh...” Dib scrambled for the remote, muting the TV. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Uh-huh. So...” Zim cleared his throat, then dramatically shouted, “Why have you come here to my lair, human?!”

Dib was so used to his antics that he didn't even flinch. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“A favor?” Zim gave him a suspicious look. “Why would I help you?”

“I've helped you before, ya know. I mean... you couldn't have even done that whole transporting Earth thing if I hadn't told you about Dad's bracelets!”

“Hm, mhm...” Zim considered that, then relented, “I suppose. Well! As I have nothing else to do while waiting for the Tallest, you may make your request!”

“Yeah, about that...” Dib sighed, knowing he was going to have to handle this delicately. “Remember when you found out the Tallest weren't coming to Earth?”

Zim's fingers dug slightly into his arms, his eyes ever so slightly narrowing. “I wasn't on the flight plan. Obviously there was a programming error.”

“What?!” Dib got up. “No, you know they never intended to put it there! You said it yourself, they aren't coming! They don't like you, Zim, and them being lost in the florpus and possibly dead is a good thing because you're finally rid of them!”

Zim growled, hands dropping to his sides and claws twitching. “You're wrong. I am their greatest Invader and they saw that when I brought Earth to them.”

“You saw them charging their cannons,” Dib replied, trying not to think about how quickly those claws could tear into him. “You didn't even bother leaving Earth. They were going to kill you. Were you okay with that? Were you really going to die here, as long as the Tallest acknowledged you?”

“Shut up! You don't... you don't know anything!”

“What don't I know then? Tell me!” Dib demanded.

Zim glared at him, entire posture rigid and his antennae trembling, and Dib was sure he was going to tackle him at any moment. Then the other suddenly slumped, his antennae falling limply and eyes watering. He walked by him, silently sitting on the couch, and patted the cushion next to him.

Dib cautiously climbed up next to him, and Zim said, “Everything is... exactly as I had said when you came by that day. The Tallest aren't coming. They don't respect me. I gave up. I was more than willing for you to... do whatever. Throw me in Earth jail. Dissect me, put me on display, I didn't care anymore. Me taking Earth to the Tallest was the last shot at showing them I could make them proud. And they still didn't care. So.” Zim slumped back against the couch, sighing. “I'm done. For real this time.”

Dib could hardly contain his excitement at that. “You mean it? You're really done? No more evil plans? Not even if the Tallest get out of the florpus?”

Zim groaned and swiped a can Dib hadn't noticed from the armrest, taking a swig. “Nope. If they don't care about me, I don't care about them.”

“You're uh... you're taking this remarkably well.”

“Am I?” Zim asked bluntly, before chugging the rest of the can.

“What's in that?”

“Plookesian alcohol. Want one?”

“Dude, I'm underage.”

“Oh. Right.” Zim finished off the can and set it down harshly, sighing. “I don't know what I'm going to do now. Being an Invader is something I prepared my entire life for. And I certainly can't go back to Irk... if Red and Purple die in the florpus, which there's a pretty good chance they will unless the Massive can transport itself back out, that'll mean I've killed _four _of the Almighty Tallest. I will absolutely face execution.”

“Wow, that's pretty- wait, four?!”

“Mhm. Long story.” Zim stared at the TV for a bit. “I... won't be welcome back home. But that's no reason to sit around getting drunk and crying in a pile of cheese, right?! Haha, I just... I just gotta... find a new purpose, something that won't bring glory to my race, just... something I can do here! Heh, that's no problem, I'll just... I'll just...” He trailed off, shoulders shaking before he just burst into tears, flopping over onto the armrest and sobbing into his arms.

Dib swallowed, looking to GIR for help. But GIR was on the floor crying as well, having always been suspectible to the emotions of his master. Dib looked back at Zim and frowned. He knew he shouldn't have sympathy for him after everything he's done, but it was hard not to. They had so much in common. Zim was a lonely outcast and everything he's ever done was for the approval of his leaders. He was a manipulative jerk through and through, but... Dib understood him. He moved closer, setting a hand on Zim's back and slowly rubbing it.

The other pulled away a bit, lifting his head to glare at him over tear-streaked cheeks. “What are you doing?”

“Come here,” Dib said simply, giving his shirt a small tug.

Zim sniffed, looking him over. “Why?”

“Just come here.”

Zim pushed himself up, and Dib guided him to sit next to him, pulling him into his arms. “It's okay to cry. I understand.”

Zim broke down again, burying his face against Dib's chest and clutching his shirt as he sobbed. “I've lost everything! I was supposed to be Irk's greatest Invader, everyone was supposed to love me, I was going to do so many good things for the Empire and the Tallest would think I'm amazing and... and instead I'm stuck out here on a remote planet no one cares about and I can't go home and sure the Tallest were never that nice to me but I grew up with Red and Purple and I just wanted them to see I'm worth something and instead** I probably got them killed just like I've killed so many other irkens! Why am I so pathetic?!**” Zim was outright bawling against Dib now, who was incredibly uncomfortable but made no attempt to push him away. He just held him, stroking his back and letting him get it all out.

“You're not pathetic. You just... you were probably never meant to be an Invader anyway. Let it go. Now you can do what you really enjoy.”

“Like?” Zim muttered.

“I don't know... what do you like doing?”

“I liked being a soldier. I liked going on missions and winning battles for Irk and earning the approval of my superiors. I... all I've ever wanted is to be appreciated.”

Dib nodded. “I know how that feels. I just want my dad to believe me when I tell him about you and the other supernatural stuff I've researched. I know he's proud of me, but he still refuses to accept what you are and it just hurts, that he thinks everything you did was just... a hallucination.”

“Compartmentilization is a very real and very frustrating psychological phenomenon,” Zim said, wiping his face off and sitting up. “He doesn't want to have to reexamine his worldview. I know... it was something I had to fight in myself.”

“I know you can find something new to do,” Dib said. “I still think you can be great. But in a different way. You like making people proud of you? You can find a job where you can contribute things to society, where people will praise you for your work, and you can still be happy.”

Zim considered, nodding a little. “Yes. I'm sure I can... can find a role that satisfies me here on Earth. It just... hurts, that I've been... been basically exiled here.”

“Yeah. It can't be easy. But I know you can get through this. I've known you for a long time now. You're strong. And you can do whatever you put your mind to.”

Zim smiled at that. “Of course I can. So what was your favor?”

“Huh? Oh, right. Well, like I said, Dad thinks everything that happened with the florpus was a hallucination. He might have told me he's proud of me, but he still doesn't accept what I do, and I just... I want him to know the truth. I want him to know you're an alien, that everything really happened and we really did work together to save Earth. Please, can you help me convince him?”

Zim was quiet for a bit. Then he said, “Yes, I'll go talk to him. He must be struggling to reconcile things anyway, I mean I left the clone with you and everything.”

“Yeah, about that, can you take Clembrane back? He's really pretty awful.”

“Nope, he's yours now, deal with it.”

“Dang it.”

Zim stood. “Membrane may think he was under a hallucination but the entire rest of the planet saw everything that went down. All these people know what I am now. It's time I go talk to Membrane as I am, no disguise, just me. I can make him understand.”

Dib got up too, giving Zim a thankful smile. “Thank you. Maybe if he accepts you, he'll accept the rest of my interests. I just want him to have my back, you know?”

“I know. But you know, you're lucky. He might not understand why you do what you do... but at least you know he loves you. That he is proud of you. It's far more than I've gotten.”

“If it means anything... I'm proud of you. For having the strength to accept the truth, no matter how much it hurts.”

Zim inhaled, chest aching, and he covered his eyes as the tears threatened to return. But after taking some deep breaths, he managed to keep them at bay. He headed for the door. “Thank you.” He went outside, Dib following behind.

They walked to Dib's house together, not really talking, but comfortable with each other. Dib could see people giving Zim suspicious looks, muttering to each other, but no one approached them, more focused on cleaning up and repairing their homes. Dib shot glances as Zim every so often, wondering if he felt guilty for all this.

“Dad should be at home,” Dib said when they were about a block away. “He's been doing a lot of work getting things fixed, but Gaz and I talked him into taking a break. He needs time for himself too, even if he doesn't like to admit it. I think he's been trying to teach Clembrane how to cook properly but it hasn't been going well.”

“Mhm, that clone does its best but it really isn't very good at cooking.”

“Please, Zim, if you just... put a laser through his brain or something, no one's really gonna miss him-”

“Absolutely not! He might be a failure but he's my creation and I'm not harming him!” Zim shouted.

“Okay, sorry.” Dib decided not to bring it up again. When they reached the house, he opened the door to let the other through first, following behind.

The clone of his dad was immediately there to greet him. “Welcome back, son! There's fresh pudding in the fridge if you want some and this is my best batch yet!”

“Spoiler alert,” Gaz said from the couch, “It still sucks.”

Dib just slid past Clembrane. “Yeah, uh, I'm not hungry right now but thanks. Where's Dad? Ugh... my other dad?”

Clembrane patted his chin with a spoon, then said, “Oh, he's in the kitchen!”

“Thanks.” Dib hurried away, and found Membrane sitting at the table with his head resting in his palms.

“How can anyone be so incompetent at such a simple recipe?” Membrane groaned.

“I know, but maybe he'll get it eventually.” Dib brought Zim in. “So, Dad! I invited Zim over and he wants to talk to you!”

“Ah, I always love seeing your little green friend!” Membrane turned to look at them. “And what a cute costume! Will you be wearing that for Halloween, Zim?”

“What? No, this isn't a costume!” Zim moved his antennae up and down a few times, and gave them some side to side twitches. “These are actually part of my body! And these are my real eyes!” He took his disguise out of his PAK, waving the wig and contacts at him. “This all was fake, just part of an amazing disguise to fool all you humans into thinking I was one of you!”

“Aw, Zim, you don't have to be ashamed of not looking like the other kids. Your anomalies don't make you an alien, in fact I may be able to study you and-”

Zim groaned, running his hands down his face. He gave Dib a look. “This is what you've been having to deal with, huh?”

Dib nodded. “Yeah, it's pretty annoying.”

Zim looked back at Membrane, marching over to him. “These aren't anomalies. I am not a human kid. I'm neither a human nor a kid, I'm a mature irken from the planet Irk. These are my antennae. This is my naturally green skin. These are my natural, amazingly powerful eyes! Your son has been telling you I'm an alien for so long and I'm here to confirm it. I am an alien. You remember me manipulating the Membracelets to put a space-phasing lifeform in all of them. You remember me harnessing the dark energy of Minimoose to transport the entire world into the flight path of the Massive. Dib and Gaz rescued you from Moo-Ping 10, remember? Brought you to Earth, you blasted my robots to pieces with those quite frankly awesome bionic arms!” Zim grabbed one of his hands. “How do I know all this if you just hallucinated it? Because it really happened! Please believe your son. He just wants you to accept that he's been telling you the truth. I know what it's like to be rejected by the ones I looked up to and I don't want that happening to him.” He pulled Membrane's hand to his chest. “Feel my un-human heartbeat. Look at my face. You have to know it. That I am an alien. And you're just afraid to accept it because it means changing your entire view of the universe.”

Membrane had sat quietly throughout his rant, expression unreadable. Zim waited, heart thudding hard, and he felt the other's fingers twitch against his chest and slowly withdraw. “You make a very compelling argument, and the evidence you've presented me with is... quite sound. But-”

Zim interrupted him. “What caused all that destruction you've been fixing if not me? Where did Clembrane come from if not me? You know it happened! I caused all this! Just accept it! I'll do whatever I need to to prove it, even...” Zim paused, then yanked one of his gloves off and held out his hand, a PAK leg extending from his PAK and slicing his palm open. He shook his bleeding hand at the other. “You can even take a blood sample! Run tests!”

Membrane's eyes widened and Dib gasped.

“Zim, you moron, that really wasn't necessary!” Dib shouted, before running to a drawer and searching through it for a band-aid.

Membrane watched the thin pink blood run from Zim's hand, seemingly in shock.

“Now do you accept it?” Zim asked.

“I... really can't argue with that. You aren't human,” Membrane stated.

Zim sighed with relief and Dib looked over his shoulder, staring at them. “So you... you really believe it?” Dib asked, finally extracting a band-aid and returning to Zim, opening it.

“I have to when the evidence is right in front of me like that.”

Dib smiled so widely it hurt, and Zim took the band-aid from him, pressing it to his cut and turning to go to the sink so he could rinse the extra blood off. “You're welcome, Dib,” Zim said.

“Finally. You actually believe me!” Dib exclaimed, giving Membrane a hug. “See, I was right all along, and I've been protecting Earth from him this whole time! And with how you stood beside me the last time he tried to take over, I know you can help me keep protecting Earth! You and I, we can do great things together! You with your real science, and me teaching everyone about the paranormal! We'll be an unstoppable team!”

“Now son, I've always known aliens must exist. I simply found it hard to believe one would ever have the means to come to our planet. Zim being here doesn't mean all those other things you believe in are real.”

Dib sighed, stepping back and giving him an exasperated look. “Fine. I'll prove all that stuff too one day. But you can't say I wasn't right about Zim, haha!”

“Yes. You were right.” Membrane slowly pushed Dib aside and stood, approaching Zim. “Everything I thought I imagined... was real. Which only means one thing.”

Zim straightened when he heard the thudding of boots coming toward him, and turned around in time for Membrane to pin him to the counter with one hand, the other hand lifting and a blue glow starting to show under his glove. Zim kicked his legs, too shocked to do much more, and Dib yelled, “What are you doing?”

“He's a threat to Earth and I will not let him try that again.”

“Dad, no!” Dib ran over to him, grabbing his arm and trying to pull it away. “He gives up, he's not doing that again!”

“How do you know? If he truly wants to conquer our world, surely he'll do anything to make you believe he's not a threat. I almost lost all of my people to a horrible, dangerous space anomaly due to this alien. What if he does something even more extreme? I can save billions by killing him now.”

Zim struggled. This was not at all how he expected this to go. “I mean it, I've really given up, my leaders don't care about me and after you put Earth back in its rightful place, the entire armada flew right into that florpus! It's probably torn their ships apart by now! In fact, that uh... That was the plan all along!” he exclaimed. “Yes, I uh... the whole time I wanted to get back at them for lying to me about my mission, so I set up this whole thing, sure there was collateral damage but I knew the Tallest would stubbornly insist on going straight down their flight path and right into the hole and they did! Dooming themselves! Which is what they get for treating me so badly! Hahaha, your planet's safe thanks to me! Please don't kill me!”

Membrane just stared at him. Zim sweated nervously, still weakly pulling at his wrist, but the other's grip was too strong. Then Membrane let go and he slid down from the counter, sitting on the floor and gasping for breath. “If that was your plan then it was an incredibly stupid way of going about things. You could have gotten us all killed! If I hadn't figured out how to work your moose we never would have gotten out of there!”

“Yes, I know. It really wasn't a very well thought out plan but I was angry and miserable, okay? At that point I didn't care whether I lived or died, I just wanted my Tallest to be proud of what I accomplished!” Zim froze, then covered his mouth. “I... I mean, I just... wanted them to die. Ugh, it's... complicated.”

Membrane leaned down and helped him up. “The approval of your leaders really meant that much to you, huh?”

“It did. But I've realized I don't need them. I can be great on my own. And I figured the first good act I could do... was helping Dib.” Zim idly rubbed his palm, then slid his glove back on.

“I see. Well, if you're serious about never doing anything like that again, I will gladly accept you as a citizen of Earth. More than that, I would gladly accept you as an employee! What you did was incredible, far beyond any scientific achievement I've ever made! You're brilliant!”

Zim stared, antennae going forward. Then they laid back and he blushed, chuckling nervously. “Oh I don't know about that, you've done a lot of great things too...”

“Yes but your race has clearly advanced further than mine! I want to know everything you know! How is your species able to cross such vast distances in such a short amount of time? Do you travel faster than the speed of light? How do you do that? And how is your moose robot able to harness dark energy? What is the function of that pod on your back? What sort of world did your species evolve on? Tell me everything!”

Zim laughed at his sudden enthusiasm, and gave Dib a smile, before looking back at the other. “It may take me a while to explain those things.”

“That's no problem!” Membrane went over to the coffee pot. “I'll brew us some coffee and we can have a nice long chat about everything!” He took the pot out and took it over to the sink to begin filling. “And Dib?”

Dib perked up. “Yeah?”

“I'm sorry for how long I doubted you. I could have done so much to help you and I didn't. I was just so obsessed with collecting the evidence, with not wanting to see your side without concrete proof, when I should have just trusted you.”

“It's okay. I understand, with everything else I obsessed over without proof I can see why you'd just chalk Zim up to being the same thing. I'm just glad you believe me now. That's all I ever wanted.”

Membrane finished getting the coffee ready and set it to brew, then returned to the table, sitting down with Zim and Dib. “Now, Zim,” he said, taking out a notebook and lifting his goggles, making Zim's heart flutter at the intensity of his intelligent brown eyes. He even slid his collar down too, letting him see his warm smile. “I want to know everything about you and your people.”

“Oh, wow, um...” Zim glanced at Dib, who gave him a reassuring nod. Zim looked back at Membrane and said, “Very well. Let me start with my childhood.”


End file.
